I’m paid to have a way with words. But as the anniversary of a truly terrible day edges closer and closer, syllables and vowels and nouns and verbs aren’t coming easily. It’s a lovely, sunny day in Toronto. I am surrounded by my little green garden, which is spiked with deep pink impatiens, hanging ivy and colourful coleus. I should be sitting in my big, blue, wooden chair with my feet up after finishing a couple of travel writing assignments. But I keep thinking about Hawaii. About Maui. About Lahaina. It was a year ago tomorrow that the world came Read more
U.S.A.
McKinsey consulting reports more than 62 million people visited New York City in 2023, representing 93% of 2019 levels. That’s also a significant increase (9.3%) from the 56.7 million visitors to the Big Apple in 2022. Domestic tourism has recovered to roughly 95% of pre-pandemic levels, with more than 50 million domestic travellers coming to the city in 2023. International travel is not far behind, recovering to about 86% of 2019 levels. Eleven million international travellers visited New York City in 2023. They are an important source of travel revenue as they spend, on average, three times as much as Read more
The world’s best city for foodies is Tokyo, Japan, with the most Michelin-star restaurants and budget-friendly dining options starting at $44 USD. Research conducted by AHTI Games looked at more than 50 cities worldwide to discover the globe’s top destinations for food lovers. It found that Italy has the highest number of fine dining restaurants, with 87 earning a Michelin star. London and New York City are hosting the most food festivals and events this year, with five each. AHTI considered several key metrics, includingthe number of Michelin star restaurants, the cost of a mid-range three-course meal, the number of food festivals and culinary events, the number of cheap Read more
I was sitting in my back yard in Toronto a little more than a year ago, enjoying a fine summer’s day while I wrote a travel story. Suddenly there was a message from my sister on Facebook messenger. “Such a shame about Lahaina.” Five words that stopped me in my tracks. I hadn’t turned on the news that day and wasn’t aware of the terrible fires that had gutted most of historic Lahaina and killed more than 100 people. I quickly started reading about the devastation, my mind going continually more numb as the minutes advanced. The photos were heartbreaking. Read more
SAN DIEGO – Perhaps the most perfect weather in the world. Fantastic beaches. And a world-renowned zoo. Most folks conjure up those images when they think of this city perched in the far southwest corner of the U.S. But you’ll also find wonderful shopping, museums with a Canadian angle and some of America’s best craft beer. Lucky for Canadians, Porter Airlines has announced service will begin between Toronto and San Diego later this year. San Diego is a year-round route, starting Dec. 9, with four weekly flights. Here’s a look at six great things to do and check out in Read more
